FOOTBALL: Former Hill player helps Hun beat Rams

POTTSTOWN — Hunter Knighton has been on both sides of the Hill School/Hun School football pairing the past couple seasons.

Suffice it to say, he’s enjoyed the latest installment of this Mid-Atlantic Prep League rivalry ... this time, from the side of the visiting Raiders.

Knighton was part of Hun’s 39-7 victory over the Rams in Saturday’s contest at Dell Field. The Bucktown resident, a member of the Hill squad prior to the current season, gave the visitors solid two-way play in the trenches while helping them break into the MAPL win column.

From his defensive tackle spot, Knighton figured in on at least three solo tackles and a slew of other group drops. On offense, the 6-foot-5, 270-pound senior helped secure the trenches so his team could amass a combined 360 yards passing and rushing — 248 of that coming through the air.

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“Every time, it’s great being at the Hill,” Knighton said after a spirited postgame rally by Hun (1-1, 2-2 overall). “It’s always a competitive game.”

Scoring on its first possession, Hun rang up all its points before the Hill (0-2, 0-5) was able to get on the board late in the third quarter. Quarterback Blake Searfoss was prominent in that surge, throwing four touchdown passes — three of them to wide receiver Gregory Golden, another to fullback Kylan Baker — and accounting for seven more points with his kicking foot.

Complementing that effort was the Hun “D” leaving the Hill three-and-out on four of its seven first-half touches, forcing the home team to punt the ball away on all but one. Held to 189 yards total offense, the Rams averted a shutout when quarterback Grant Smith (6-for-16) hooked up with wide receiver Seth Regensburg on a five-yard TD toss with 2:56 to go in the third.

“Our defense did real well, holding a team to seven points,” Knighton said. “And our quarterback throwing for four touchdowns was big.”

The Raider defense also produced points, in the form of a safety less than nine minutes into the game. Linebacker Quashae’ Hendryx pulled Smith down in the Hill end zone for a three-yard sack, upping the visitors’ lead to nine.

“That was huge, early in the game going up by two scores,” Hun head coach Dave Dudeck said. “You get confidence from something like that, and the momentum snowballs. It was nice the kids stepped up to take control.”

The final score notwithstanding, the Hill came up with numerous inspired plays on defense and special teams. Bryce Allen and Zach Garland had interceptions of Searfoss and second-string quarterback Donavan Harris, respectively. And Dominic Lucchesi blocked the last of five conversion kicks Searfoss attempted, leaving him 4-for-5 in a kicking game that included his 40-yard field goal in the final minute of the first half.

“We’re going to keep working. There’s nothing else we can do,” Hill head coach Grey Simpson said. “We’ll adjust our goals and priorities. We have three games left, and we’re going to use each as an opportunity to get better and win.”

Smith’s 92 passing yards for the Hill included a 57-yard connection to Henry Fiedler on the touchdown drive. The rushing game was headed by Johnnie Cherneskie bulling his way to a 49-yard output, and freshman quarterback Kurt Neumaier amassing a team-high 60 on the Rams’ final possession of the game.

“Neumaier has been getting experience in varsity games,” Simpson said. “He’s a tough kid who makes plays with his legs. He’ll be getting bigger and stronger.”

NOTES

Cherneskie got the Hill crowd fired up with his emphatic drop of Hun tailback Christopher Cardinali toward the end of the third quarter. “Johnnie Cherneskie plays so hard,” Simpson said. “He’s a heck of a player who gives 100 percent every day. We hope that attitude will rub off on our other players.” ... Searfoss had attempted a 32-yard field goal with about 3-1/2 minutes left in the first half, but the kick missed the uprights. ... Hun was whistled 15 times for penalties totalling 100 yards. By comparison, the Hill was assessed just 55 yards on seven infractions.